7 Fish Pregnant Women Need to Avoid

Written by Caroline Olney on January 24, 2017

Seafood can be a great source of protein and nutrients, but women who are pregnant and nursing need to be extra cautious around fish with high levels of mercury. The FDA recommends women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and young children avoid these seven varieties: king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, and bigeye tuna.

The good news is these fish should be fairly easy to avoid—the tuna that comes in cans is usually skipjack or albacore, and the other seafood on the list isn’t very popular. In addition to the list of definitive no-nos, the FDA also categorizes fish as “best choices”— the type that’s cool to eat a few times a week—or “good choices”— ones you should eat just one serving of per week. Check out where your favorite fish falls below: